EPPINGTON: THE GUARDED SECRET

Rivera, in particular, was. She’d certainly had enough—enough to make her march over to Julio’s front door and spew out some heavy-duty cuss words at him. I suppose he was in his living room laughing at them because he’d made at least one of them lose it.
Mr. Rivera was obviously unsuccessful in stopping his wife from going over there to Julio’s place and losing her religion if only for a good, memorable minute. The guys and I wondered why they didn’t just call the cops on that old jerk, but maybe they thought it wasn’t the Christian thing to do. To each his own.
All the way to the distillery, I wondered if any eyes were on me, piercing my back and waiting for just the right moment to surprise me. I was nervous as heck after experiencing what I did at the house. I saw Pearl Rose’s mutt sitting on her front porch staring me down, which made me wonder if he knew I wasn’t the real deal. I definitely made no eye contact with him, but that wonderful peripheral vision of mine didn’t leave me in the dark. That dog had it in for me; I was sure about it. Why he didn’t blow the whistle puzzled me. That’s why I was paranoid the entire time I was en route to our spot.
I pushed open the back door, which was our mode of entry. The first floor of the building was empty other than for scattered trash the guys and I had mostly been responsible for leaving around. The second level was full of old wooden barrels and crates, probably left behind from those days when the business was in operation. A spiral staircase was situated in the middle of the lower floor which had a few rails missing on both sides as you made your way up to the second and third floors. Sam was already there on the top level waiting on the bench we’d hauled up there the previous year and had parked right in front of the wide window facing the southern side of our neighborhood. That window offered the best view in the house and gave us a good cover too. Sitting there for a couple of hours every day offered us more entertainment than you can probably imagine.
She got up and hugged me tightly. You would’ve thought we hadn’t seen each other in years.
“Everything went okay?” I asked.
She shook her head and I noticed she’d been crying. That was a rarity for Sam. She’d seen me teary-eyed more times than I’d ever seen her, so I knew she must’ve really been worked up.
“They’re not acting right at all,” she said, “—not even Taylor.”
“I know. Same with my peeps. So, you weren’t able to find out anything?”
She shook her head again. “I got nowhere. For the most part, they went about their business acting as if I wasn’t even there. I just can’t wrap my head around this!”
“Me neither.”
“I thought I’d try and reach my Aunt Regina who lives out of town to let her know what ‘s going on around here, but I couldn’t get a signal on my cell. So, I tried the landline in my room, but even though I got a dial tone, that’s pretty much all I got. I wasn’t able to dial out.”
“My cell doesn’t have a signal either,” I said. “I don’t have any contact for any of my relatives outside of Eppington and my Uncle Charlie...well… you can see he’s no use even to himself right now.” I paused for a moment, then said: “I heard Dillinger on the phone when I was there. I’m not sure if he was using the cordless or one of my folks’ cell phones, so I have no idea if our landline is working or not.”
“Your dog Dillinger was using the phone?” She grimaced. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. Well, we’ve heard the dogs talk out there in the street, so I’m not too surprised that they can use the phone.”
“But who would they call? This is crazy!”
“I’d think they’d call each other. They’re acting just like humans. Weird.” I sighed deeply. “So, where’s Rob? It’s been more than half an hour...”
“I know. Sure hope he’s all right,” she said. “I’m really scared for him now.”
I went and sat down.
“Do you think he’s coming?” she pressed.
“Rob’s terrified, I know, but he’s a smart kid and pretty slick too. I’m willing to bet he’ll be here any minute.”
She shifted in her seat. “The way he was before we split, I just don’t know...”
I turned and faced her. “It was you who gave him the confidence he needed today to venture off on his own, you know. He wasn’t listening to me.”
“You think so?” she studied me.
“Yep. Sometimes, you can really say the right words, and what you said to him made all the difference.”
“Do you really believe that? I mean… that I sometimes say the right things to people?”
“’Course you do! You give me good advice all the time. How can you not know that?”
She lowered her head a bit. “I wish I could say I did the same for Taylor. Only today, I realized I hardly ever even noticed her; was always so wrapped up in myself and what interested me. She’s my sister and I couldn’t care less what she was interested in. And my folks… well, that’s another story.”
I gently placed my hand on hers. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure Taylor and your folks know you love them.”
“I sure hope they do. I actually told them that before I left and they had no reaction at all—even though that’s probably the first time they ever heard me say it. They barely even looked at me. I felt horrible!”
She became emotional and I tried my best to console her.
“They’re gonna be all right,” I said. “Somehow, we’re gonna be able to fix things. I just know it.”
“You’re just saying that, Hewey. Even though you’re an optimist,